International Watch Company (IWC)'s Pilot watches date back to the early days of aviation, 1936 to be precise, when the first Special Pilot's Watch Ref. 436 was released.
In designing IWC's first pilot watch, owner Ernst Jakob Homberger's two sons, both licenced pilots, provided invaluable input based on working pilots' requirements on the field - a large, legible dial, with an antimagnetic movement, able to keep decent time between -40 °C and +40 °C.
IWC's Pilot watches ran through World War II with timepieces used by both the British Royal Airforce (RAF) and the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) and were successful for the next two decades.
IWC restarted production of pilot watches in 1994. Going further, a major change of movement was introduced in 2016. Since 1994, various complications were added to the Pilot for series production or as limited editions.
The PD-1703 is a homage to the IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Chronograph 41 (IW3881) created in classic 'flieger' design. I have purchased the homage to 'Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team Edition' (IW3881-08). The original is the first official team watch IWC released in 2021, to honour the long-standing, engineering partnership with the team since 2013.
PD-1703 has been updated with a 60-minute graduated sub-dial at the 12 o'clock position v/s an incorrectly graduated 30-minute sub-dial earlier.
The updated version also features a Seiko VK67 meca-quartz movement with a 12-hour chronograph counter sub-dial at the 9 o'clock position, instead of a 24-hour running time indicator of the VK63. Other advantages include a battery life of approximately 3 / 5 years (with/without chronograph use for 60 minutes per day) with accuracy of +/-20 seconds per month. This is based on professional tests and feedback from international reviewers.
The chronograph pushers are firm and the movement is snap-back at reset. The PD-signed screw-down crown provides sufficient grip and functions smoothly.
PD should have paid closer attention to the following when updating the watch:
1) The font style of the indices;
2) Design of pointers for hours and minutes;
3) Right the inverted triangle marker at 12 o'clock on the dial;
4) Use a needle point central (chrono) seconds pointer;
5) Introduce at least the date function at 3 o'clock;
6) Replace ‘Diver 100’ with ‘Water Resist 100M’ on the rear case cover
I wonder why PD did not provide a date window, as the VK67 has a date dial which remains covered in this watch.
Although just 42.50mm across the case, the watch appears large as the dial occupies most of the space of the slim side-wall, brushed-finished case. The slender bezel ring accentuates the effect. Thanks to the bezel with its top-edge-polished finish and polished surfaces of the pushers, the watch looks quite elegant rather than just a tool watch. The case lugs are shaped downwards for better wearability.
The dial has a matte finish. The three sunken sub-dials have a sun-burst effect, more evident in the version with silver sub-dials. The single domed, AR-coated crystal is said to magnify the dial, so it appears slightly larger, but viewing angles are limited.
Real pilot watches always have Nato/nylon straps. Hence, I chose the composite nylon/leather strap with teal colour-coded stitching to correspond with colour of the indices and pointers. The strap is a bit stiff and will need some wearing to break it in. The buckle is polished and PD-signed.
All main dial indices, hour markers, main & sub-dial pointers as well as the tip of the central chrono seconds pointer, are lumed.
I would have preferred to have the PD logo also printed in teal like the name, indices and markers on the watch. Being a polished, applied logo, it vanishes into the background at certain angles.
Overall, a good watch – my assessment is chiefly on its construction fundamentals. I strongly feel PD should have done a better job on this homage especially on the key visible features - index fonts, 12 o'clock hour marker, central chrono seconds pointer design and day/date feature.
The only other homage you get for this watch is the Militado ML04 powered by a Miyota OS00 chronograph quartz movement. The latter is a tad small (39mm case dia.) and has its own share of misses in detail reproduction, but you do get a day/date function at the 3 o'clock position.
All said and done, I vote for Seiko.